About Us

Committing to Delivering Exceptional Fire Suppression Solutions

Ginge-Kerr is a global leader in fire fighting technology with a long history of pioneering innovation.

Leadership

The Ginge-Kerr Board of Directors is based at Thame, near Oxford, in the UK.

Managing Director - Roger Iliffe
Finance Director - Lynda Guest
General Manager - David Adkins
Operations Director - Charles Delle-Case
Technical Director - Rod Cox

Innovation

Ginge-Kerr has maintained its position at the forefront of fire protection technology through continuous investment in research and development.

Products

Ginge-Kerr manufactures Argonite inert gas fire suppression systems, AquaSafe water mist systems and InertFoam systems.

History

The Danish company Ginge was established in Copenhagen in the early 1900s.

Established in Manchester in 1903 by John Kerr McMyn, the British company John Kerr & Co began by supplying a wide range of fire extinguishing products including the Empire range of extinguishers (introduced in 1905), the Underwriter's range of extinguishers (introduced in 1910), the Davy fire escape (introduced in 1920) and the Thermo fire alarm (introduced in 1929). In 1931, John Kerr & Co began manufacturing fire extinguishing chemicals for use in the Empire fire extinguisher. Its continued expansion into fire extinguishing chemicals followed a move to new premises in Liverpool in 1951 from where the Centrimax range of powders was first launched in 1970. Increasing demand for a multipurpose range of powders led to the launch of the Centrimax ABC range in 1981.

During this time Ginge and John Kerr & Co joined forces and began selling fire extinguishing systems under the name Ginge-Kerr. In 1984, the company divided its expertise into two distinct operating divisions: John Kerr & Co who continued in the business of fire extinguishing chemicals and Ginge-Kerr who continued to market fire extinguishing systems.

On 1 January 1988, John Kerr and Co (Fire Extinguishing Chemicals Division) was acquired by Croda International plc. The acquisition by Croda of Uniser SA (a fire extinguishing chemical manufacturer near Lyon in France) on 1 July 1989 was part of its continual drive for improvement of quality and service to its customers. The division assumed its new identiity on 4 September 1989, operating as Croda Kerr and Croda Uniser. On 1 February 1993 Croda Kerr acquired Monnex, the world's most powerful fire extinguishing dry powder, from ICI Chemicals and Polymers.

In June 2000 Croda Kerr amalgamated with ABC Powder to become Croda Fire Fighting Chemicals. On 19 January 2004 Croda Fire Fighting Chemicals was acquired by Kidde plc, the global fire and safety group, and became known as Kerr Fire Fighting Chemicals. Today Kerr Fire Fighting Chemicals is part of Kidde Products Limited, which in turn is part of UTC Fire & Security.

Global Structure

Ginge-Kerr manufactures Argonite, AquaMist and Inertfoam at Bentham in North Yorkshire. It provides product sales and system design from Thame in Oxfordshire. It does business in over one hundred countries throughout Europe, Africa, the Arabian Gulf, Asia, South America and the Caribbean through an extensive network of over one hundred distributors. It also has local representation at Kidde sales offices in Dubai, Moscow, Singapore and China.

Employees

Ginge-Kerr employs around 150 people in the UK. The company's Investors In People accreditation demonstrates that its high standards of quality are reflected not only in the excellence of its products, but also in the skills and motivation of people throughout the organisation.

Quality

Ginge-Kerr has third party accreditation to BS EN ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System. All components and finished products are rigorously tested and inspected to ensure consistent reliability and fire performance.